Reviewed by Silvara on
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I started reading this book and couldn't put it down until the end. It was sweet as well as funny and Violet was endearing. I loved how she looked at the world. She was a prisoner, but she never let that fact break her spirit.
I liked her mother Nuri, and the servants George and Maggie. Queen Bogdana was evil without being scary to read about for young children. The illustrations were fun to see. The characters all looked younger than you expected, but the almost whimsical feel fit very well with the story.
It has the fairytale feel to it, without most of the darkness. The twist at the end was unexpected to me, but made total sense with the rest of the story. I liked the descriptions used in the book. Everything from the humming birds, to Violet's fantasies of being a pirate at sea. They were vivid without being overly descriptive, and helped suck you into the story.
The book is filled with hopes and dreams, good triumphing over evil. While it was written for children, all age groups will find something to like. If it isn't on your reading list yet, it needs to be.
This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon
Reading updates
- Started reading
- Finished reading
- 23 March, 2016: Reviewed